This is the last in a series of posts using photos from a recent 6+ week trip I took around the Western US & Canada, with a college buddy Chuck & my Australian Shepherd Gem, aka "the Mutt." I'd like to thank all you Hoggers who have looked at the prior posts & in particular those who took the time to comment. This has been fun experience for me & I'm grateful for all the support many of you have provided.

The prior post left off up in Jasper Nat'l Park in Alberta, Canada ... what to me, seemed like a fitting place to turn for home. What a wonderful series of parks are in that area ... if you haven't been ... you should go. In preparing for the trip, I read the 40'ish mile trip on the Icefields Parkway from Banff Nat'l Park to Jasper Nat'l Park would take your breath away ... (it did) & the author suggested to take that drive in the opposite direction & see a different set of views. I don't know if I'd totally agree, however, I did see many views I missed the 1st time. So he was right. Do it both ways.

We saw incredible scenery ... Bears ... Big Horn Sheep ... & then it was out on the plains ... Man, oh Man ... that drive is a long, flat one ... on either side of the Canadian - US Border. So we mixed it up ... the 1st part of the journey was north of the border ... & the 2nd part was south of the border. While flat, that country has it's own kind of special beauty.

The only snag for us, was a relatively small one ... at the border. Going North was a breeze ... 1 officer asked a couple of questions about weapons ... when I asked, if he wanted to see the Mutt's immunizations & he said no & we were through in a minute or 2. It was quite a different story coming back ... a long waiting line ... then 4 officers surrounded the van ... opening doors & looking in bags ... the Mutt (normally a sweetheart) took umbrage to their intrusion ... somehow one officer irritated her & she made sure he knew it. He backed off yelling "Get that dog under control!!" I started to chuckle ... 'cause this dog loves everyone ... but I didn't want any hassle, so I said no problem & spoke to her. They resumed their inspection & the only snag was a bag of big, beautiful & particularly tasty oranges I had purchased a few days earlier in the US!!! They were the fruit equivalent of "personae non gratae" ... & were not allowed to come back across with me.

On our drive East through Alberta ... Saskatchewan ... North Dakota ... & Wisconsin, we saw farm machinery the likes of which we never see on farms here in New England. Tractors with 12 wheels ... 3 on each corner!!!! At one point, I had stopped to shoot a scene when a big one passed me. He'd been traveling with a good portion of the tractor off the side of the road & had to swing out to go around me, taking up most of that two lane highway. The most amazing thing to me was even though I'd inconvenienced him ... he gave me a big wave & smile as he went by. I took loads of shots of equipment working in what appeared to be never ending fields & in front of farm equipment dealers ... but space on this post is limited to 10, so those will have to be content to be stored on my hard drive.

After 6 weeks & 2 days, 14,000 miles, & +/- 12,000 photos ... the Mutt & I returned to Vermont. When we left, the snow was deep ... very deep ... but Spring does eventually come up here as you can see.

The shots were taken as follows:

5d Mk IV & EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (Tangle Falls; River; Fire Truck & kitchen windows
5d Mk IV & EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (Llamas)
6d & EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (Black Bear; Big Horn Sheep & Old House)
iPhone 6 (Flat big sky Saskatchewan)

I want to again, thank all those who took the time to look at this series of posts. Now, I shall sit back & look forward to seeing some of your journeys. Best to you all.

Frank